Car-coupling.



Patented lune 5, |900.Y

. w I @i am Jian@ No. 650,920.-` Y

E. H.l VOBDTRlEDE.

(PIU Modell) UNITED STATES.v

PATENT f rrrcn.

ERNEST HENRY-VORDTRIEDE, VOF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

CAR-ooUPLlNG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.V 650,920, dated J' une5, 1900. I Application filed February 19, 1900. Serial No, 5,753. (Nomodel.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, 'ERNEST HENK;7 VoRD- TRIEDE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, resid- 4ing at St. Louis, State of Missouri, have inventedcertain new and Yuseful Improvements in Car-Couplers, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof. 1

My invention has relation to improvements in car-couplers; and itconsists in the novel arrangement and combination of parts, more fullyset forth in the specification and pointed out in the claims.

ln the drawings, Figure 1 is a combined top plan and sectional plan ofmy device,'the chains being removed. Fig. 2 is a combined side elevationand middle sectional elevation showing one side coupled and the otheruncoupled and corresponding` in this respect to the parts shown in Fig.1, this figure showing the end wall of the-car in dotted outline; andFig. 3 is a side elevation of one of the couplers with the pin in itscoupled position, the link being shown partly broken away.

The object of my invention is to construct a car-coupler which will besimple, cheap, and durable, one containing a minimum number of parts,one which will be positive in action, and one which shall automaticallycouple the cars irrespective of any difference in the level between thecars to be coupled.

In detail the device may be described as follows:

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the draw-bar, and 2 thedraw-head, of the coupler, the same being mounted on the car in anyapproved manner. Pivoted to the rear of the draw-head and adapted toswing in a vertical plane is a bent lever 3, lthe long arm of whichpasses through an elongated opening 4 in the top Wall of the draw-bar,the said arm being provided with an eye 5, to which is secured one endof a chain 6, whose opposite end is secured to a lug7, carried by arockshaft 8, mounted in brackets 8 on the car and provided with a handleor lever 9 on either end on theoutside of the car. The short arm 3' ofthe lever 3 is received by a pocket 10, (having a rear inclined wall10,) formed in the bottom wall of the draw-bar, the free end of saidshort arm being rounded for a purpose which will presently be obvious.vThe free end of the lever terminates in a downwardlyprojectingslightly-curved rigid arm or coupling-pin 1l, which when in its lowestposition engages the coupling-link 12, carried by the oppositedraw-head. The open mouth of the draw-head flares both vertically andhorizontally to allovsT the necessary freedom of movement to the linkunder all conditions and to guide the same into either mouth during thecoupling operation.

Movably mounted in each draw-bar forward of the pi'votal pin of thelever Sand partially supported bya pin 12, disposedparallel to thepivotal pin of the lever 3, is a tripping-block 13, the limits of Whosemovements are de fined by the ends of the elongated slots 14, formed inthe vertical walls of the draw-bar and receiving and guiding the ends ofthe pin 12'.

By drawing on the chain 6 (which may be accomplished by turning thecrank or lever 9, so as to turn the shaft 8 in the proper direction topull on said chain) thelever 3 will be raisediand the pin 11 disengagedfrom the coupling-link 12. (See the right of Fig. 2.) By this movementthe rounded end of the short arm 3 will force the block 13 outwardly adistance determined by the length of the slots let, in which the pin 12'is guided. The frictional resistance of the rock-shaft will keep the pin11 (which forms a part of the lever 3) disengaged. lf now the oppositecar approaches the one in which the coupling-pin 11 is disengaged, thelink carried by said car will push against the block 13, forcing itinwardly, as seen by the arrows, Fig. 2, the block in turn engaging thearm 3', thereby tripping the lever, as shown by the arrows, and forcingthe pin 1l to engage the link by which the impact was produced. The endof the block 13 will come squarely against the arm 3', and when once thepin is coupled it cannot become uncoupled until the rock-shaft is turnedin the proper direction to disengage the pin from the link. The pin 1lplays in the openings 15 15, formed for its reception in the upper andlower Walls of the draw-bar. In raising the lever 3 to disengagethe pin11 the arm 3 of course forces the block 13 out- IOO wardly, as stated;but to prevent binding of n 3' is made rounded, being that the leverdescribes the are of a circle in ejecting the said block. I y

As seen from Fig. 2, the coupling may be eiected even if the draw-headsare on differ entlevels. NVhen the lever 3 and pin 1l are in theirlowest positions, it is apparent that the force of the impact from whichthe coupling resulted is taken up not only by the pivotal pin, whichcarries the lever 8, but by the pin 12', carrying the block 13. Thisarrangement prevents too great a strain coming on the pivotal pin of thelever and preserves the saine against bending or weakening.

Having described my invention, what I claim is l. A car-couplercomprising a draw-head, a lever pivoted rearwardly thereof and swingingin a vertical plane, a curved couplingpin or arm rigidly secured to saidlever, a movable block mounted in front of the lower arm of the leverbut disconnected therefrom, said block being adapted to be struck bythelink of the opposite coupler and thereby force the coupling-pin intosaid link, substantially as set forth.

2. Acar-couplercomprisingadrauf-barand draw-head, the mouth of thelatter larin g both vertically and horizontally, a bent lever -pivotedto swing in avertical plane mounted in the draw-bar, the long arm of thelever projecting above the upper Wall of the drawhead, and the short armbeing received by a pocket in the lower Wall, said pocket having a rearinclined Wall, a curved coupling-pin or arm rigidly carried by the longarm of the 1ever and adapted to pass through openings formed in thelower and upper Walls of the draw-head, a block mounted in the draw-barin front of the lever but disconnected therefrom, and having asupporting-pin the outer ends of which are mounted in elongated slotsformed in the side vertical Walls of the drawbar, the block beingadapted to be struck by the link ot' the opposite coupler and trip thelever to a locked position, and means for raising the lever and pinsufficiently to disengage the latter from the link for purposes ofuucoupling, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

ERNEST HENRY YORDTRIEDE.

Witnesses:

EMIL STAREK, G. L. BELFRY.

